Page 44 - ThreeGiftsForFlipBook

anything else he did. He had known for a long time she was going, but when it finally happened it just seemed impossible. Justin could remember how Tom and Sam cried at the funeral. They all tried to put on a brave front, but it was no use. They spent so much time at each other’s houses that it was almost like they had three homes and three mothers and three fathers. When she died it was as if each of them had lost a mother. All of these feelings and memories came flooding back as he felt Emily’s little arms squeeze tight around his neck. He thought how his mother, who had always been there for Christmas, wouldn’t be there this year. He took a deep breath to get his composure so he could speak and hide the tears he could feel forming. “Good night, Emily.” As Justin stepped out into the cold night air Mary smiled at him. “Thank you, Justin. And good night.” Justin just nodded. He didn’t know what to say. He knew he couldn’t have talked if he had wanted to anyway. His throat was so tight he could hardly breathe. He went outside and walked part way down the street, then looked back. He could barely see the light of the window to the Harris’s apartment through the falling snow. He had been ready for a jail sentence, but 39